GRAND FORKS, N.D. (August 10, 2018) – With the 58th annual Knoxville Nationals taking place in Knoxville, Iowa, no track or series points were on the line for the Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA Sprints Friday night at River Cities Speedway. With 13 cars checked in, Brendan Mullen and Ty Hanten led the field to the green flag. Mullen led the first four trips around the speedway until Hanten took the point on lap five.

Hanten, who was in search of his first career NOSA win, led the next 16 laps until nine-time series champion and current point leader, Wade Nygaard, took the lead with four laps to go.

Once out front, Nygaard checked out and took the win by 1.6 seconds over Hanten. Shane Roemeling, Jade Hastings and Mullen rounded out the top five.

“There were a lot of yellows and we definitely needed them to bunch everybody up. It was extremely hard to pass tonight. There was really only one groove on top and it had a lot of ruts in it,” said Nygaard after the race. “There was one rut in turn one that I hit and it spun me towards the infield. I banged wheels with my teammate (Brendan Mullen), but I’m glad we were both able to keep going.”

Nygaard attributes patience to being the key to victory.

“Towards the end, I just had to be patient. Hanten gave me one little opportunity and I had to take it,” said Nygaard. “After that, I never looked back.”

Nygaard, a nine-time Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA champion and current series point leader, holds a 60 point lead over Nick Omdahl heading into the final month of the season.

“We’re just going out there trying to win races, make good decisions and do the best we can every night,” said Nygaard. “I’m not really worried about points… I don’t really look at points… but if we are lucky enough to win the championship this year, that would be a great way to end the season.”

The NOSA Sprints will have this weekend off as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series invades the Red River Valley for the final time in 2018. The series will return to action Friday, August 24th at River Cities Speedway and Saturday, August 25th at Devils Lake Speedway.